Via Media

Roman Holiday

Congratulations to Dawn and all who are making professions of faith and being initiated into the Church this weekend.

If you’ve any friends or relations who will be entering the Church whom you’d like to name here – please do. As well as links to any bloggers you know you have been chronicling their journey (I did a cursory search a week or so ago and came up with nothing, but I’m sure I just didn’t look hard enough.)

I don’t know her name, but there is one young woman who will be entering the Church this weekend at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Beverly, MA. I’m praying for her and all who come to Christ in the Catholic Church this Easter season.
F.

I started reading Dawn’s blog quite awhile ago. For lack of a better place, I put the URL in my “Catholic” folder. I’m glad to see that she is now making it accurate.
God Bless Dawn and welcome in. We are all enriched by your entrance into the Church.

My friend John McKeegan and I welcome Doug Dreibelbis into “The One True Church” on Satruday, at Easter Vigil. A special thanks to Amy for her book, “Prove It: Jesus” for helping to set the tone. Doug, your your true journey is about to begin. May God Bless you and May God Keep You in the palm of his hands forever.

Congratulations to Dawn, and to all the others who enter into the faith this weekend. I’m 38, but actually become a “teen” as this Easter Vigil is my 13th “birthday” since entering into the Catholic Church myself.
Only a few more years and I’ll be asking for the keys to the car!

My friend Antony will be confirmed this weekend. That’s a name he took as he became an Oblate of St. John’s Benedictine Abbey recently. He has talked a good bit about his journey on his blog (linked on his name). Great Peace and Grace be with him.

I’m being received Saturday.
I feel…completely unprepared for this. At the end of a process that started in September, I hardly know any more about the Church or its teachings than when I started.
There were very kind, sincere, well-meaning people in the RCIA team, and the directness and concreteness of their own faith was and remains a challenge to me at many levels.
I’ve been reading the Catechesm, trying since a Cursuillo early this year, to make regular confession. I know I can’t know *everything* before making a profession of faith; and that RCIA isn’t about academic learning. But…It’s been very difficult.

What is it with my literary friends and the church this year? Glorious welcomes to Dawn and to Cindy, the staff writer of Reader’s Digest, two dear gems that I’ve been praying for for a long time, now. How incredibly beautiful. Thanks be to God.

New England — I’m sure others have told you something similar, but I have spent about 40 years on this journey, praying, thinking, reading, reflecting, meditating, learning, and I’m still far from “prepared.” What you are about to undertake is not the end, it is the beginning. Do not worry that you may feel unprepared, perhaps it is a touch of blessed humility. Besides, Jesus told us that the Faith is like a mustard seed, and so long as you are fertile soil, that Faith will grow and grow in you. Then your knowledge and understanding will grow. And that in turn will lead to an even greater and deeper Faith.
As we begin, not only the Triduum, but Passover, remember that Moses felt unprepared and inadequate. Remember too the words of our Holy Father on that glorious day last year, “the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments.”
Dominus Vobiscum!

I am being received into the Church at the Vigil and like New England I feel totally unprepared, even though I have been contemplating this move for years and have even made the intellectual/faith leap some time ago. I take heart, however, in what Monsignor told me a little while back that this is just the beginning, not the ending, of my spiritual journey (if that doesn’t sound too loosey-goosey)–and it is for all of us, right, as we renew of baptismal vows on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
But please help me out! I need a patron saint, STAT! A list of potentials can be found at the blog. Perhaps not on the list is Thomas, for St. Thomas More, whom I greatly admire, and the disciple Thomas whose doubt I can empathize with. I resist this a bit though, since my first name is Timothy and “Timothy Thomas” sounds a little weird…doesn’t it? Weigh in!!

Our friends John and Barb are entering the church this Easter. Our family entered 3 Easters ago. I work at a Catholic bookstore and have heard the stories of 3 families with older children entering this year. Very happy grandparents coming in to get gifts for these new Catholics!

my daughter’s roommate is coming into full communion this easter at the chapel at the University of Dallas. Her name is Mandy Stigant, and she’s a beautiful person, does wonderful pottery and is a fine arts University of Dallas graduate.

Garland (for now) — although I took Matthew, the unworthy and despised tax collector, I’ve always been partial to the martyrs, or perhaps one of the warrior defender-of-the-faith types. Of course, there is always Charles (or Karol in Polish).

My hubby and I are sponsoring Kiyomi in her adult Confirmation this weekend. She’s a “revert” just like me.
Congrats to all our converts. As for patron saints — don’t feel confined, my friend. Have multiple ones! I took St. Joan of Arc at my confirmation, and she helps me still, but I think she “introduced” me to another powerful woman, Saint Gianna Molla, when I started having babies. Saint Gianna is the patron saint of my motherhood, and an enormous help to my spiritual growth.
Hugs to all of those entering the Truth! Welcome home!

Re: Garland
How about St. Stephen, the first martyr? “Stephanos”, crown, is not all that far off from Garland.
Re: St. Michael
CB, St. Michael was sainted by acclaim of the Church, in the days before canonization.
Please don’t forget that “saint” is only an Englishing of “hagios” or “sanctus”, both of which mean “holy”. (Don’t know the Hebrew, or I’d cite that, too.) St. Michael the Archangel is indeed “holy”, as are the “Holy Angels” to which many a church is dedicated. Traditionally, one can hop back and forth. You could validly translate “Hagia Sophia” as either “Holy Wisdom” or “St. Sophia”, depending on your mood.
So, CB, if you insist on not saying “St. Michael”…
That’s ‘Holy Mike the Archangel’ to you!

Our friend Ron will be welcomed into the Church tomorrow after a 20 year journey (and many, many prayers from family and friends)from agnostic to questioning to a strong faith in our Lord. Also, a family who has sent their children to our parish school for the last 13 years even though they were Methodist is coming into the Church as a family – mom, dad, and 3 teenage children. And this is the 17th anniversary of my coming to the Church. I received a special blessing that night. I was in the midst of a very difficult pregnancy and was very fearful of miscarrying. During the middle of the Easter vigil, I felt my daugther move for the first time. The combined joy of that experience combined with my First Communion was overwhelming. Praise be to God!

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